One of the keys to success in flipping houses, or buying investment properties is being able to negotiate effectively. Being a strong negotiator gives you a competitive edge against other buyers. It can make the difference between a deal being profitable for you or not.

I recently purchased a property, listed on MLS, for $35,000 below the asking price. In fact, this house was previously under contract by another investor for the full asking price of $160,000 but he found it was too tight a profit margin to make it worthwhile. I was able to negotiate a much lower price. One of the factors was that I made a cash offer, with incentives to close including paying for title and survey costs.

As a general rule, expect 3 moves (3 rounds of negotiations) before you land a deal. I made an offer of $100,000; they countered at $130,000. I offered $115,000 which was rejected. We settled at $125,000.